Board explores deed-transfer notation to flag burial sites

The Dorchester County Burial Site Preservation Board discussed a proposal to add a notation or signed acknowledgment at the point of deed transfer to alert new owners that a burial site exists on a property. Chair (S1) said the idea came out of a Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites meeting and aims to create awareness when properties change hands: “we're looking for a no cost or very, very low cost way to identify that property as being one with a burial site present,” the Chair said.

Board members pressed on feasibility and next steps. A committee member (S4) said some deeds never recorded a cemetery: “in my deed, it wasn't put in there,” and asked how the notation would follow a property if prior deeds omitted it. The Chair answered that an acknowledgement form signed at deed transfer could create a permanent record in the property chain but warned there are “a lot of gates to go through to make sure that that's something we can do,” citing procedural and systems work needed.

Members noted administrative constraints. One member (S3) said the state database (SDAP) cannot add a cemetery notation unless it appears in the deed and that the clerk's office currently lacks a field to register such a notation, which could introduce costs if systems changes are required. The Chair said the board will research options and hoped to circulate a draft proposal in advance of the October meeting for feedback from the council and other stakeholders.

The meeting did not adopt a policy; the group requested members submit comments to staff by the end of July to help staff prepare a proposal. The board plans follow-up outreach to the clerk's office and SDAP to clarify technical and legal constraints before taking formal action.